Reflection Roundup: Unfriendly Homeostasis
Each week we gather news stories, notable pieces, and other important items for Christian leaders today. As always, listening broadly draws together differing perspectives from which we can learn but may not concur. Here are 10 things worth sharing this week.
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Beware of the lure of calm waters. Not every minister must be a “whitewater adrenaline junkie,” but paths toward missional goals often contain obstacles ministries must leverage.
1. Beware of earthly rewards.
William Willimon, theologian and retired UMC bishop, claims in prophetic anticipation, “Preachers are a pain.” Writing for Faith & Leadership, he recounts a sermon he preached after revisiting Mark 6, a story of Jesus walking on the water and calming the storm. The phrase “he intended to pass them by” jumped off the page, and Willimon challenged his congregation with the truth of God’s mission. If we fear placing our oars in choppy waters, the mission of God may pass us by. “Many people in leadership positions vainly try to foster warm relationships or strive to be efficient managers rather than risk-taking leaders, not because they are so nice but rather because institutions crave the placidity of the status quo and reward those who keep them comfortable.” Willimon challenged his hearers and his readers toward continual transformation, both congregational and personal, as evidence to the world and to the Christian of the relentlessness of our God on mission.
2. Beware of shying away from the truth.
The Writing for Your Life blog includes this excerpt, “What Authenticity Is and Why It Matters,” from Vinita Hampton Wright’s book The Art of Spiritual Writing. In this excerpt, Wright makes several statements relevant to all aspects of verbal communication. Preaching came to mind while I read her comments this week. “Because authentic writing [preaching] is truthful, it will upset someone eventually because the truth can be disturbing.”
3. Beware of staying under your rock.
The fact is, no one is comfortable when politically charged topics are discussed at church, but does this mean the church should not have a word for their people, should intentionally steer away? Ginger Gaines-Cirelli writes “4 Tips for Preaching on Politically Charged Topics” for Leading Ideas, a newsletter publication of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. She highlights several truths: Scripture offers perspective on the needs of the world, even seemingly innocuous sermons can unintentionally offend, and “preaching is risky business.” Gaines-Cirelli does not advise throwing all candor to the wind, but suggests capitalizing on the meaningful relationships between pastors and parishioners to discuss pertinent issues that are often on everybody’s minds.
4. Beware of avoidance.
Rebekah Simon-Peter writes “Six Steps to Getting Your Church Past Polarization” for Ministry Matters, addressing the divisive false dichotomies in which we can find ourselves within our congregational conversations as they relate to the issues in the news. Simon-Peter elevates meaningful discussions as brothers and sisters over decisions, positions, and outcomes. Many of these issues simply need to be opened and discussed repetitively, keeping the conversations open and our awareness centered on people rather than the issues themselves. “This ethics-based process creates trust, loosens polarization, and increases your skill at diving deep as a community of faith.”
5. Beware of believing you’re isolated and alone.
For the Christian Chronicle, Erik Tryggestad writes “Justice and hope beyond the pandemic,” reporting on the recent KERYGMA preaching conference, where preachers delivered messages to one another. Who better to speak a word of encouragement and challenge than a partner in the trenches? Ministers recalled stories from Scripture that are particularly relevant to this time: the return from exile, leaders who wanted to go their own way, ways to help people practice their faith beyond the “sit and get” of a weekly sermon, and our responsibility to use our voices for others whose are not as loud or don’t hold priority positions. Preachers utilized their common experiences, what they are hearing from the news, and what they know from Scripture to affirm the work of God in and around them.
6. Beware of limiting the mission to the building.
Writing for Leading Ideas, Rick Reinhard shares “7 Dos and Don’ts When Considering the Redevelopment of Church Property.” In the past year and a half, we’ve renegotiated every inhabitable space. Even the use of public offices has been called into question. The web has streamlined travel and worldwide contacts. Yet churches have only grown in the value we place on gathering with our congregations! We appreciate having an array of options when necessary while acknowledging making space for one another and for our communities has taken on importance in new and different ways. This has ignited our congregational creativity regarding the use of our resources. Reinhard develops a timely framework of priorities to keep in mind when taking a fresh approach to our building usage.
7. Beware of underestimating the Spirit’s power to refill individuals in community.
Kelly Ryan writes “Falling in love again – with a congregation” for Faith & Leadership about her experience on a rector search committee. For Ryan, meeting with this group of people became a meaningful expression of church for the duration of their task together. She mentions several intentional moves the search community incorporated into each of their gatherings, including writing a collect together. The group then recited this succinct prayer, designed to gather and focus their intentions alongside the mission of God, each time they met. Ryan’s account of the communal experience alone makes this piece worth the read. There’s real treasure, though, in the questions the group asked their candidates and the way they opened themselves up to candidates’ inquiries.
8. Beware of individuation, of navel gazing, and overvaluing denominational distinctions.
Yousaf Sadiq writes “Special Psalms Help Pakistani Christians with Persecution, Pandemic, and Disunity” for Christianity Today, explaining the global pandemic experience and the specific ways the psalms continually provide for the Pakistani people. Set to music in what came to be called the “Punjabi Psalter” in the late 19th century, the psalms are sung in the language of the people and in familiar tunes, thus providing continual strength in a nation where Christians are overtly persecuted and treated as second class citizens at best. All Christian denominations in Pakistan use this psalter, meaning a person can walk into any Christian church, Orthodox or Protestant, and participate in the hymnodic dialect of ancient prayer.
9. Beware of missing out on a good book!
Yours truly reviewed Christian Practical Wisdom: What It Is, Why It Matters, a practical theology book by multiple authors. People whose names you’ll recognize – Dorothy C. Bass, Kathleen A. Cahalan, Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, James R. Nieman, and Christian B. Scharen – have compiled a work that demonstrates as much as it dictates the stuff of wisdom, a reflection on the evidences of theology in daily life. The book is a beautiful read that I recommend for the scholarly church leader. Find my review in the current issue of Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry, a scholarly journal of the Siburt Institute for Church Ministry.
10. Beware of too much seriousness.
When was the last time you took a note from God’s creatures and did something just for the fun of it? These two definitely give us something to consider.
